This week the doors reopened to Holyrood’s crèche facility.
The crèche offers pre-school childcare provision for MSPs and staff who work in the building. It is also available to people with childcare responsibilities who are engaging with parliamentary business or with their MSPs, or who are visiting Holyrood, giving them the opportunity to have their children looked after in a safe and fun environment.
The Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Alison Johnstone MSP, visited the crèche to meet staff and children.
The Presiding Officer said: “The Scottish Parliament was one of the first parliaments in Europe to offer childcare facilities of this kind for young children and I’m delighted that we’re once again able to offer this.
“The crèche is there to provide childcare to MSPs carrying out their duties, to all staff working in the Parliament, and to visitors giving evidence to our committees, touring the building or meeting their MSP.
“It’s important that the Parliament challenges itself to do all that we can to enable those with childcare responsibilities to work in, engage with and visit the Parliament.”
With Child Safety Week just around the corner, NICEIC – the UK’s leading body for certified electrical businesses – is reminding parents about the importance of having sufficient measures in place to ensure electrical safety in the home for the whole family.
Child Safety Week takes place from Monday 5 to Sunday 11 June 2023, with this year’s theme being, ‘Safety Made Simple’. ‘Safety Made Simple’ provides parents with the simple changes they can make to stop the scariest of accidents happening within the home. Offering easy solutions that can fit into busy routines, the theme acknowledges the dangers that youngsters face both inside and outside of the home.
In support, NICEIC says that there will be a proportion of the nation’s families who are unaware of the electrical dangers that can exist around the home; whilst for others, they may be aware but too busy to keep up with simple maintenance and vital periodic checks.
Ahead of Child Safety Week, Paul Collins, Technical Director at NICEIC, has provided some simple advice for families to stay safe within the home.
Paul says: “It’s no secret that electrical devices such as tablets and video games are becoming the chosen choice of entertainment for many children. As a result, many tech-savvy kids are unknowingly leaving themselves open to serious electrical dangers.
“Should devices such as these be handled incorrectly, especially by children, the consequences are frightening. That’s why we want to encourage parents to take on some simple checks and measures in order to safeguard their family in and around the home.
“All of these devices need to be plugged in at some point in the home and parents should not overlook the potential risks surrounding these. It’s vital that the socket-outlet is not overloaded, as this can increase the risk of a fire in the home.
“Other simple precautions that parents can take include keeping electrical cords out of reach, checking cables for damage, keeping appliances off when not in use and never leaving younger children unattended when using a device still connected to the mains.
“The charity Electrical Safety First has also done some fantastic work around highlighting the sale of dangerous goods via online marketplaces. We support in their message and urge parents to shop safely online and only buy goods from reputable retailers.”
With summer just around the corner, parents must not overlook the potential hazards playing in the garden may bring. The garden poses particular electrical safety risks due to the added potential for water and electricity to mix – especially with children dipping in and out of paddling pools.
Paul continues: “When using electrical equipment outside, it’s important to make sure all electrical appliances are using a residual current device (RCD). An RCD is a safety device that automatically turns off electricity if a fault has been discovered.
“Another important tip that may be surprising to parents is to not rely on plastic plug in socket covers. Regular sockets, that comply with British safety standards, have a built-in protection mechanism already and socket covers will not prevent electric shock if the installation is not safe.”
Crucially, NICEIC recommends that any electrical work in the home should be conducted by a certified business, such as those listed with the NICEIC, as even the seemingly simplest of jobs can be incredibly dangerous if not installed properly.
Discussing the importance of child safety at home, Rory Carroll from the UK’s leading charity Electrical Safety First comments: “In the UK, online marketplaces such as Facebook Marketplace, eBay and Wish are not obliged to obey by the same laws as traditional retailers. So large numbers of dangerous electrical products are being sold to unknowing customers.
“As these possibly contain sub-standard or non-compliant parts, they can pose a serious risk of fire or electric shock. We want to ensure everyone stays safe within the home and urge you to only purchase from reputable retailers.
“If you are unsure about any areas of electrical safety inside or outside, we have various resources available on our Safety Around the Home hub and more information is available at www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk.”
For further information or to search for your nearest NICEIC Certified business visit www.niceic.com.
The weather forecast is looking good for the Summer Festival tomorrow at Granton Parish Church from 10am – 4pm.
Food all day from breakfast rolls in the morning, soup at lunchtime and finishing off with a burger BBQ at 3pm. Music from Granton Youth and Ukranian folk singers
Food available all day breakfast rolls in the morning, soup at lunchtime and finishing off with a burger BBQ at 3pm.
• LIVE MUSIC FROM GRANTON YOUTH MUSIC & UKRANIAN MUSIC GROUP
We’ve been overwhelmed by the incredible response to this year’s Baillie Gifford Schools Programme: our packed programme of FREE book events for schools.
Thank you to everyone who has signed up for in-person tickets so far, we can’t wait to welcome you and your pupils to the Edinburgh College of Art for some inspiring author events this August.
We have limitied availability remaining but if you would still like to attend in-person please get in touch with our Schools Booking Coordinator directly asap to check availability by emailing schools@edbookfest.co.uk.
And don’t forget, if your class is unable to make it along in-person, selected events will also be livestreamed for schools to watch in the classroom live, or on-demand. Events will be visable on edbookfest.co.ukfrom Wednesday 14 June and you can book your place any time from then until just before the event starts.
Two Edinburgh based charities – along with a third good cause group in Fife – have been shortlisted to receive a share of a £25,000 funding pot, thanks to Scotmid’s Community Connect award scheme.
The awards will be announced this October, following a vote by Scotmid Members.
Edinburgh Young Carers is a voluntary organisation that provides respite and support to young people between the ages of five and 25 who care for somebody at home. It aims to improve the lives and wellbeing of young carers by raising awareness of the challenges they face and by offering emotional and practical support.
The Junction works with young people aged 12-21 across Leith and the North East of Edinburgh, offering access to a wide range of health-related services, education and information by providing a safe and welcoming environment. The charity encourages social and economic inclusion and promotes long term health and wellbeing.
Margaret Murphy, Chief Executive at Edinburgh Young Carers, said: “We are thrilled to be shortlisted for a Scotmid Community Connect Award.
“Young carers in Edinburgh face several challenges looking after loved ones and this funding will offer new opportunities they wouldn’t have otherwise. We are pleased to provide young carers in Edinburgh with a much-needed break from their caring responsibilities as well as a chance to build their confidence and learn new skills.”
The other good cause shortlisted in the East of Scotland is Fairway Fife.
Keen to support local good causes? Pop into your local Scotmid and pay £1 to become a member.
Amazon offers new term-time contracts, providing its operations employees in Dunfermline and across the UK guaranteed time off during Summer, Easter and Christmas holidays, enabling more time with their children
The innovative contract is part of a wider flexibility boost which also includes a part-time pick-your-shift option
Amazon has launched an innovative new contract that offers parents, grandparents and guardians of school-age children the choice to work term-time only.
The new contracts, available at the Dunfermline fulfilment centre, guarantee time off for the six-week Summer break, as well as the two-week Easter and Christmas holiday periods, without affecting the comprehensive range of benefits they receive, including private medical insurance and life assurance.
The contracts, aimed at better supporting family needs, were successfully trialed at three sites following employee feedback, and are now being phased in for employees in Dunfermline and across all Amazon’s fulfilment centres – the places where Amazon store, pick and pack items for sale. They will be rolled out to sort centres and delivery stations across the UK later this year.
Amazon also announced a new flexible part-time contract for a minimum of 80 hours a month which lets employees pick and mix the shifts which suit their needs; part-day or full-day, day or night, weekday or weekend. The contract will support people who are unable to find work due to family or other commitments that require flexibility, return to the workplace.
As with all roles at Amazon, a current employee could refer a friend or family member to this option, which could also provide similar, required flexibility to a partner at home. The part-time contract, piloted at five fulfilment centres and now being expanded to a further seven sites, was also introduced as a result of employee feedback.
Jamie Strain, General Manager at Amazon in Dunfermline, said:“We’ve listened to our employees’ views on flexible working and I’m really proud that we’ve introduced new and innovative options based on their feedback.
“Both of these contracts put a really important emphasis on work-life balance and I’m certain they’re going to make a positive difference for many of our people.”
John Boumphrey, Amazon’s UK Country Manager, said: “At Amazon, we’re always innovating for our employees and our customers. I’m delighted to announce these new flexible working initiatives that provide even more choice for current and future employees, enabling them to better manage their home and work commitments.
“Amazon already provides a four-day working week for our fulfilment centre employees in the UK, and term-time contracts are another great example of how we are using feedback from our people to support them with their childcare needs, giving families more time together.”
He added: “Providing a flexible part-time contract where people can pick the shifts that best suit their needs will support our employees’ partners and other job-seekers with family caring commitments a route back to the workplace, helping to boost household income.”
Amazon already offers multiple types of contract. A standard working week is 40 hours, with shift-swaps and part-time options.
Term-time contracts are now available to thousands of Amazon’s fulfilment centre employees. The part-time pick-your-shift option has been rolled out to seven fulfilment centres following a successful trial, with more sites soon to follow.
GRoW (Get Ready for Work) supports women back into the workplace. Director Liz Sewell is particularly interested in term-time contracts: “Term-time working has the potential to give a lot of people the support they need, so it’s an interesting and progressive change at Amazon.
“We know that many women want to work flexible hours and for those with younger children term-time working makes so much sense. We believe it’s a great way to support a widening of the workforce as well as providing valuable flexibility for parents.”
Cut of £1,870 per pupil since 2012/13 on spending for those identified with ASN
Postcode lottery of spending between local authorities on ASN
Near doubling in the number of pupils with ASN from 2012
Cut in the number of ASN teachers by more than 500
An alliance of leading providers of specialist children’s services, the Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), has called for greater resourcing to support children and young people with additional support needs (ASN), such as autism, dyslexia and mental health problems.
The call comes as new figures contained in a parliamentary answer to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, Jenny Gilruth MSP. This reveals that spending supporting those pupils with ASN has slumped by over a third.It comes against a backdrop of the number of pupils with ASN increasing dramatically and the number of specialist teachers supporting them dropping to a new low.
While the SCSC supports a presumption of mainstreamingfor pupils with ASN, meaning that they are educated in a mainstream school unless exceptional circumstances, without adequate resourcing there is an obvious impact on those with ASN, fellow pupils and teachers.
The SCSC is calling on the Scottish Government to increase funding to support the needs of vulnerable children and young people, including greater provision of specialist ASN teachers, educational psychologists and classroom assistants.
The figures highlight that average spending per pupil on additional support for learning by councils in Scotland (primary, secondary and special education) has fallen from £5,381 in the 2012/13 financial year to £3,511 in 2021/22 (in real terms). This amounts to an overall cut in spending of £1,870 per pupil, representing a 34.8 per cent drop.
This fall is against the backdrop of a 97.2 per cent increase between 2012 and 2021 in the number of pupils identified with ASN, from 118,011 to 232,753, amounting to 114,742 individuals. Those with ASNcurrently represent around a third of all pupils (33.0 per cent).
Between 2012 and 2021 the number of full-time equivalent ASN teachers (publicly funded primary, secondary, special and centrally employed) has fallen from 3,389 to an all-time low of 2,886, a decrease of 503 teachers, representing a cut in numbers of 14.8 per cent.
Against the background of Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis, with its disproportionate impact on those with ASN, the SCSC has called for greater resourcing from both the Scottish Government and councils to ensure that those with ASN receive the care and support they need, provided in an equitable manner across Scotland.
A spokesperson for the SCSC commented: “It is vital that those with ASN get the care and support they need, when they need it, especially given the impacts of the Covid-19 and cost-of-living crisis.
“This is also key if we are to genuinely close the educational attainment gap, as we know that those with ASN are disproportionately drawn from poorer neighbourhoods.
“We are in a mental health emergency and have also witnessed dramatic increases in classroom disruption, impacting on pupils and teachers alike. This is in part due to increased levels of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties post-lockdown.
“Given this, it is disappointing to note cuts in spending supporting those with ASN and we would urge the Scottish Government to adequately resource the provision of the likes of specialist teachers, educational psychologists and classroom assistants.
“Councils and the Scottish Government must work together to provide an adequately resourced and equitable system of support across Scotland for those children and young people with ASN, representing some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society. “
Culture Secretary Angus Robertson has confirmed £9.5 million funding for Scotland’s flagship Youth Music Initiative (YMI) this year. This includes £500,000 which has been ringfenced to deliver on the commitment to expand the YMI model into other art forms.
YMI funding enables schools and other organisations to provide quality music-making activities for children and young people, which range from after-school drum bands to courses in sound production.
More than 362,000 children and young people took part in YMI-funded projects under the 2021-22 programme, the majority of those in high-deprivation areas. The funding also supported 1,182 music education posts across all of Scotland’s 32 local authorities.
Mr Robertson marked the funding award with a visit to Murrayburn Primary School in Sighthill, Edinburgh, where he met pupils who have benefitted from the programme, which is administered by Creative Scotland.
The Culture Secretary said: “Music plays a vitally important role in young people’s lives, and beyond developing their wider skills and learning we know these kinds of activities also have a huge positive impact on their confidence and wellbeing.
“We are committed to ensuring every school pupil in Scotland can access a year of free music tuition by the time they leave primary school through the YMI, no matter their background. YMI is focused on creating opportunities for groups of children and young people who may not otherwise have the chance to participate in cultural activity.
“This year’s funding takes our investment in this programme to more than £150 million since 2007, to enable free music tuition for hundreds of thousands of young people, and support thousands of music sector jobs across the country.”
Morag Macdonald, YMI Manager said: “With ongoing support from the Scottish Government, the YMI allows local authorities to deliver programmes like this across Scotland ensuring that children and young people with additional support needs have opportunities to experience the joy and excitement that comes with making music.”
